We’ve come to expect more from technology and less from each other

We spend a significant amount of our time interacting with and mentoring young people. One of our constant issues is separating volunteer teens from their hand-held technology.

When we saw this story in the local newspaper – it brought to mind Sherry Turkle and what she had to say over a year ago – about how we’ve come to “expect more from technology and less from each other.” See her video here.

Stories – Youth Philanthropy

My name is Nathan Dos Reis I am a Boy Scout in Troop 20, Squanto District, Old Colony Council. Our troop is located at 400 Faunce Corner Road in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. I am a senior at New Bedford High School and I am enjoying this final year in high school.

Yesterday, we met a most remarkable group of students from the Freetown Lakeville Middle School, Friends Of Rachel Club.

Rachel Scott was the first student killed in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Darrell Scott, Rachel’s father, established Rachel’s Challenge to perpetuate his daughter’s example and the two-page “Code of Ethics” she wrote a month before her death. The organization’s mission is to “motivate, educate and bring positive change to many young people”. The Rachel’s Challenge program includes establishing Friends of Rachel clubs in schools, following the initial presentation, to sustain the campaign’s goals on a long-term basis. Schools around the country have incorporated Rachel’s challenge into their own clubs bringing the message to their students.

Q: What do you get when you mix nine Berkley Brownies with 500 pounds of gently-used, children’s clothes donations?A: Enough warm winter clothes, inspected, sorted and organized to help 24 local children receive a great gift package!

Here is an email we received from their leadership team – ” Thank you so much for allowing our Brownie Girl Scout Troop to come and volunteer at GiftsToGive and showing them that they can be an important part of helping others no matter how old they are. We had such a wonderful experience. The girls, at eight and nine years of age, were saying things like “this was awesome”, “it was a good experience”, and that “it felt good to help”.

We met a remarkable group of faith-based, high school students this week. Photos from their visit are here. We asked junior, Anastasia to write about her experience. Here is what she had to say.

By Anastasia – “On November 4, 2015, fifteen eleventh-grade students from Cardinal Spellman High School, including myself, hopped in a bus and drove almost an hour to Acushnet for one of the most eye-opening experiences of our lives. As none of us had ever been to GiftsToGive or knew about everything it stands for, we quite frankly didn’t know what to expect for the trip. Despite this, though, the students and I were just as excited as ever to get to work and make a difference in the poverty surrounding our area.

Tabor Academy student Wendy Liu accepted the assignment of reporting back on her group’s volunteer experience yesterday. Here is what she had to say – “September 22 may be another mundane Tuesday for most students, but not for those at Tabor. Today was our Service Day which takes place every semester; students and faculty members volunteer in various places, one of which is GiftsToGive.

Some from Tabor have been to GiftsToGive multiple times, while others stepped into the factory for the first time today. Caitlin, a junior to Tabor, is new to this activity. Today she sorted clothes for adults and kids. She recounts that the most difficult part of the job was to decide what to re-cycle because she wanted to “keep everything.” In addition, the day at GiftsToGive has been influential, for she believes that their Directors’ empowering speech makes people “reevaluate [their] circumstance[s]” and rethink how fortunate they are.

Twenty-five students and staff from City On A Hill High School spent their morning with us. We worked on gift packages, books and toys. Rather than us telling the story, we asked student Sarah Bethoney for an essay on their group experience.

Here is what Sarah had to say: “Coming to GiftsToGive was a great experience. Learning the process of how we can help the people in our community and seeing all the work that goes into it is a phenomenal thing to see. My peers and I came to GiftsToGive to volunteer by helping organize books, clothes and toys to go out to children.

OK – so it started off as a regular Wednesday morning.
I woke up, made my coffee, squeezed my orange juice, got on the elliptical bike, did my six miles, got in the shower, dressed and sat in my den to read the overnight dispatches and review my calendar and “things to-do list” for the day.

The morning I had been waiting for was here! An 8:45am meeting with a 4th grade class to talk about philanthropy.
I arrived at the Elementary School on time and was escorted to the basement. I knew something was up, that something was wrong, because the last time I was there to talk to the 4th grade they took me upstairs. Upon arrival in the basement, I was introduced to a pre-school class of 4 year-olds! Oops! I had the 4 correct, but it was an age designation, not a grade level. Twenty minutes later, I had twenty new friends and future voters, parents, leaders and philanthropists. I left feeling like it was the best morning I have had, so far, all year!